Endless
by MidnightRhymer
Summary: Sometimes, we look into the darkness and think things that should not be thought. Sometimes, we look into the darkness and think nothing at all. In that moment, thought is overridden by what we see. And, what we see is endless.
1. Like Bella, Only Not

Prologue- Like Bella, Only Not

_The woman in the center of the village was, in no uncertain terms, both magnificent and terrifying. It was hard for Alana, the third wife of the great chieftain, not to look upon her and tremble. She, unlike her husband, had no special powers. She could not shape shift, nor could she fight with such speed and swiftness. But, the woman in the center of the village was drawn to the scent of human blood, and human blood was what ran in her veins._

_ Without a word, the third wife took up the knife of her fallen son._

_ She gave a yell of courage and acknowledgement before plunging the blade deep into her body._

Ilea woke with a start, and her father turned toward her abruptly. She gave him a reassuring smile, tucked her jet black hair behind her ears, and leaned back against the camper door.

Starting over had never been easy for her. She'd spent most of her life starting over, following her dad from broken down reservation to broken down reservation. Now, she was following him to a Quileute reservation in the rainiest county in America. Her anger at being uprooted because of another of her father's failed love-affairs had remained, as usual, hidden. She had said good-bye to the few friends she had on the Florida rez, packed up her bags, and jumped in her father's camper.

The only difference between this move and all the others was that her father wasn't following some "Indian whore of a broad" to this rez. He was actually moving into the lot beside a friend's house, on recommendation from said friend. Unfortunately, Ilea knew that said friend had a son, and said son was heartbroken over some "white bitch" that was in love with some "white bastard".

Her father was a racist fuck, too.

"We're here."

For once, Ilea didn't look at the reservation and think _My god, what a dinky little place._ Instead, she looked and saw some semblance of an Indian tribe. And, as her father pulled the giant camper in beside a ramshackle house, she saw a bonus. _Hey, hot, shirtless guys._

"You wanna… go take a look around?"

Ilea thought about it for a moment. _Spend some time with dad in the camper I've been in for two weeks… or go explore my new "home."_

"I think I'll see what there is to see."

Jacob Black watched as the "new girl" jumped out of the camper. _Ilea Robin. That's her name,_ he thought. She was pretty, with long black hair pulled most of the way back, only a few strands falling from the loose bun she had it in. She was wearing long jeans and a black tank-top, seemingly unaware of the cold around her. Dark sunglasses covered her eyes, despite the lack of need for them. She let out a sigh as she glanced around, and Jake got the sense that it wasn't her first move, and that she believed it probably wouldn't be her last.

She kicked some rocks around before picking a direction, shoving her hands in her pockets, and heading away from the camper.

On any other day, Jake would have stayed seated on the porch where he was, thinking about Bella and the heart-break he felt when he thought about her and— He who Jake refused to think of by name. Instead, for some unknown reason, Jake pushed himself off the porch and started off in the same direction as the new girl.

"Jacob? Where are you going?" Billy asked.

"For a walk."

"Being neighborly?"

"I was thinking about it."

As his father's friend—_Micheal Robin, I think_—stepped out of the dilapidated camper and headed toward the equally used house, Jake turned away from his past and faced his destiny.

_**Ok, so maybe it's totally cliché. I don't care, because this is my spin on it. If you don't like it, go read someone else's spin on it. Now, for those of you who do like it, I can't say with any degree of certainty whether or not this will be updated regularly. I can't even tell you where this is going.**_

_**Sorry about that.**_

_**Now, if you would be so kind as to leave a review, it would be much appreciated. Flamers will be deleted.**_

_**Thanks,**_

_**TMR**_


	2. Kindred Spirits

_**To Rachelle- First, dirty sex scenes, unfortunately, come later because, as this is a Twilight fanfic and I believe in stay true to the major themes in the story, I want them married before the hot and heavy happens. I can't promise hot and heavy, either, but *shrugs*. Second, and with all due respect, I will not email you more of the story. Most of it has not been revised yet, and only the chapters I post are in the condition to be posted, which is why I can't promise anyone a constant and consistent update schedule. Also, in emailing you the story, I am hindered by the fact that your email did not appear in the review. Sorry.**_

_**To the world- welcome to your second dose of this story. I hope you will enjoy and leave a review if at all possible. I don't bite too hard, I promise!**_

Chapter One- Kindred Spirits

Ilea knew she was being followed, probably before he knew she knew. It wasn't hard to figure out; his big loping steps on the gravel didn't help him be stealthy or sneaky. It was quite the opposite and, as Ilea found herself on sand again (but not the sand of the Atlantic, oh no), she turned to face her stalker.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

"Probably not, but I might be able to help you," Jake said softly.

"Oh, yeah? You the welcome wagon?"

"Why, you know a lot about welcome wagons?"

"I've seen my fair share on ramshackle reservations better and much worse than this."

"Sounds like you move around a lot."

"Usually following some broad my dad's taken a fancy to. You ever been _off_ the rez?"

"Once, as far as Seattle."

Ilea realized that what had started out as confrontation had swiftly turned into a conversation. She was shocked to know that she was speaking to someone on her first day. She usually had to actually get to the school first, then people talked to her. _We take care of our own, Ilea. You'll be fine_, her father had told her, the first time he went off in search of love.

"I've been in one reservation for every state, almost. This makes forty-seven."

"That's a lot of broads."

Ilea smiled, shocked to find it on her face. She was still angry with her father, but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

"Name's Jacob," he said, extending his hand.

"Ilea," she replied, taking his forearm in a warrior's hand shake. She couldn't have told anyone why that felt better than a regular hand shake, only that it did.

Jake pulled back, turned to the ocean, and smiled.

"Hey, big boy. What's so funny? I could use a good joke," Ilea said, stepping slightly in front of him.

"Sometimes, it only takes a little."

Ilea and Jake ended up on a driftwood log similar to the one where Jake had first told Bella about the legends of wolves and vampires. They weren't speaking, just sitting together in companionable silence, each thinking along their own train of thought that led to the same inevitable destination—some things in life start so easy. There wasn't much to say, not just yet, but there was one question that was nagging at the edge of Ilea's conscious mind. It however, was one she had to phrase more delicately than it was in her mind. In raw form, it would have been _How come someone with such a beautiful smile hides it with such a hopeless look?_

She had to settle for something else.

"For a pretty boisterous guy, you seem down in the dumps," she said softly.

Jake turned to her, and the pain in her eyes was so raw that it made her want to reach out and cup his cheek, offering what comfort she could. Instead, she put her hand on his bare shoulder.

"Hey, c'mon. Just because we just met doesn't mean you can't tell me. That look has heart-ripped-out-of-chest written all over it."

He went to shake it off, but, upon seeing the look of fiery determination in her eyes, he knew it wasn't a battle he could win. The story spilled from his lips before he ever made a conscious decision to tell her.

"I know this girl… she's head over heels for this guy who's all wrong for her. He left her in the dust, because he thought he was a danger to her health. She was devastated, so… I gave her a shoulder to cry on. And… I started…"

"To fall for her," Ilea said, her head bobbing up and down in an understanding nod.

"Then, bam, her guy's back in the picture. I love her… but…"

"She loves him more," Ilea added, a gesture of understanding playing across her hands.

"Sounds like you've heard this before."

_In just about every romance novel I've ever read. Still, why does it feel like I'm in one now?_ "Just a few times; a friend of mine a couple reservations back from my current encampment had a similar problem, except in reverse. He was in love with three girls and couldn't choose which he liked more."

"I think I'd prefer his situation more."

"Oh? And why's that?"

"At least he has the choice," Jake replied.

"So do you," Ilea offered. "Instead of sitting and brooding about her, try to at least look like you're moving on in your life."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

Ilea's teeth came together in a click, and she pushed herself off the driftwood seat, moving closer to the ocean. When her feet were in the surf, she let a few tears fall from her eyes. Whatever complications her new friend had were nothing compared to the complications in her own life. And, yet, she couldn't make herself walk away. She had come too far, too soon. Walking away went out the window the second he told her about the girl.

"Complicated, huh?" she said as the surf crashed into land.

Jake didn't reply, but Ilea could hear him breathing and that was all she needed.

"If you think you're the only one on the planet whose life has complications, buster, you've got another thing coming," she said. There was no malice in her voice; she wasn't in a position where she could hurt him severely and something told her she wouldn't want to. "You may lead a tangled up existence here, but I've seen dozens of guys who've got it worse than you move on because they know they have no choice. You're not the only thing that exists on this planet that is in love."

She didn't expect him to get off the log. She didn't expect him to come over to her. She didn't expect him to wrap his arms around her shoulders and pull her into a hug. He didn't strike her as the hugging type, and she didn't strike anyone as the type that needs hugs. But, he did exactly that. At some point in her short, but slowly building speech, Jacob got up from the driftwood log and moved to stand behind her. As soon as the words were finished coming out of her mouth, he wrapped his arms around her, leaned her back against him, and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I'll make you a deal, here and now. If you help me, no matter how pissy I seem to be, I'll try to move on," he said softly.

Ilea nodded.

A month later left her with a growing fear in the pit of her stomach. She knew the dangers of strong ties to anyone. Even though she was nearly eighteen, her father could get in a fight with Billy and move on at any time, dragging his daughter with him. She would once again be forced onto another reservation, forced to start over. It had happened on the first rez, the only one she spent more than a year on. She had grown very close to one of the boys (although her father didn't know it, she was still in contact with him) and had fought tooth and nail to stay when her father went off again.

It was the first time the words "fuck you" had ever crossed her lips, but not the last.

Yet, the deep-sinking claws of budding affection had settled into her almost her first day on the rez. Jake had taken her back to the house, introducing her to the other boys he hung out with, and one girl; Leah Clearwater, who had taken to her instantly for some reason. Jake had only rolled his eyes, but Ilea felt it had something to do with Bella, the girl Jake was in love with. And so, she had met Billy.

"Hey, Jake. Your dad wants you," Seth called from the porch.

Jake's strange I'm-with-my-friends-and-sorta-happy look changed to one of impatient love. It was a look that said _he always wants me for something, but I love him enough that I come when called, regardless._ Instead of leaving her outside to fend for herself, Jake pulled Ilea into the house with him. He was silent as the grave while he moved through the place with the agility one receives when they have lived in the same place a long time, but the house looked too big for him to move with such grace, almost.

"What's up, dad?"

"Just curious as to how your walk went," Billy said as his son and Ilea rounded the corner. "Well now… I haven't seen you since your father brought you for a visit last. You were three. How have you been, Ilea?"

"I've been okay, I guess," she said nervously. Her father was sitting on the couch, a smile on his face as he looked between his daughter and her new friend.

"That's good."

Billy, however, didn't look like he bought it. Jake didn't either, but Ilea didn't care. Her father bought in, and that was all that mattered.

She hadn't seen much of Billy since then, when he'd almost blown the fact that she was pissed off at her father out of the water for all to see. Mostly, she hung out with Jake and the rest of his pack of friends. She also noticed that, more often than not, his pack of friends served as the law on the reservation. She'd seen it before—groups of boys getting together to do what the rez police couldn't—but never in such a way that made her think they were, inalienably, the justice of the place. She didn't question it; as was the case with most things in her life, it just was.

Over the course of a month, affection began to sink its teeth into her. She started to care about Jake, more than was strictly necessary. He'd run off with his friends into the woods and be gone for hours, and she found herself reminded of the strange dream she'd had on the way to the reservation; the one about the woman who stabs herself to save her husband.

None of this was what caused the growing panic in her belly.

No, the fear and panic were caused by who, or what, was in Jake's car. Sitting on Billy's porch, a bottle of root beer in her hand as she waited for Jake to come back from the nearby Forks, she had a sense that he had gone to pick something up. You see, she'd been noticing things about Jake lately. Things like, when he ran off into the woods with his friends, she'd sometimes get the vague sense of an animal moving through the trees, like some great wolf. It wasn't hard, when she had been brought up to believe in such legends, to put two and two together. The only thing was, she kept coming up with three instead of four. There was a piece of the puzzle missing, and she had a feeling that she'd have to ask to get the answer.

She didn't want to be wrong.

When she saw Jake's car, instead of the anticipation bottoming out, it peaked. There was a girl in his car, a girl with brown hair and brown eyes that reminded her of the description of Bella. She closed her eyes. _You said you were trying. It seemed to get better._

Not wanting to betray her sudden, inexplicable anguish, she pushed off the porch and headed over to the beat up machine she called the Jake-mobile.

"So, big kahuna, who's your friend?"

Jake smiled at her mannerisms, now familiar to him. She'd called him big kahuna since day one, and Bella wasn't going to stop her.

"This is Bella. Bella, this is Ilea."

"Is she…"

"No."

Ilea didn't let the statement go into her mind as what Jake obviously intended it to go in as. She knew for a fact that neither one had been thinking the word girlfriend. The words had been "one of them," and she knew it.

"No, I'm not a wolf."

They were both stunned, Bella because Jake was hanging out with someone who wasn't a wolf and Jake because he hadn't known she knew. Ilea, however, just smiled and turned away… right into Sam.

_Oh, shit._

"Did you tell her?"

"No," Jake said sharply. "She's smart enough that she didn't need to be told."

Ilea, looking at Bella, could see that it stung her. She resisted the urge to smile. Instead, she kept her focus on the confrontation between Sam and Jake.

"C'mon, no pissing matches today," she said softly. "I know. How I know, I couldn't even tell you, but I know. It's not like it's going to get me killed."

"Around here, it very well could," Sam said. "Maybe we should tell you what Bella's boyfriend is."

"I'm guessing him being 'all wrong for her' has nothing to do with him being some kind of drug dealer," Ilea said as she cocked her thumb at Bella.

"Not even close," Jake said, but the familiar description made him smile. "He's a vampire."

Ilea almost laughed. It was a comical situation, and she wanted to, so badly, but she didn't. Because she knew it was probably true. If the wolves were real, the vampires had to be too.

"I'm guessing he's not of the Dracula variety."

Jake cracked up on the spot, and even Sam cracked a smile. Bella didn't even try to hide her borderline anger.

"No, he's not," she snapped.

"Well excuse me," Ilea said, instantly ruffled. Leah and the others had come to the porch and were watching the fireworks, "to hell and back. Didn't know making jokes was illegal in Forks. Sure isn't here."

For the first time, she noticed that the camper was gone.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Jake winced, looking into the kitchen, where Ilea sat on the phone with her father.

"What do you mean, didn't want to put me through it? You've done it forty-seven times. What's forty-eight?"

There was a pause while Ilea's father answered. It gave Jake enough time to understand that, while she didn't want to leave the rez, she didn't want to be left on the rez either. And, he supposed, he was partially guilty for the surprise. He had known her father was leaving, this time in search of work rather than in search of love. And, despite all this, it was clear that he also had no intentions of seeing his daughter again before her graduation.

"Work. Yeah, and what happens when you get fired from this job and I'm still stuck on Billy's couch?"

_Couch? She thinks she's on the couch…_

"Not… not on the couch at Billy's…"

_Oh shit._

Ilea slowly turned, the cord of the phone in her hand making a half wrap of her body in that instant. She stared at Jake, and he winced.

"On… In…"

There was a pause, but Jake knew it wasn't for her father to answer. It was for Ilea to rear up and throw everything she had at him.

However, he was strongly disappointed in her next sentence.

"Fine. I guess I'll see you in hell, then."

She hung up the phone and braced herself on the counter. And, despite Bella, seated on the couch in the living room, or the hundreds of other places he could have gone to give her space, he went into the kitchen that could have been a war zone for all that it had just witnessed.

"Hey," he said softly, and he wrapped his arms around her gently, knowing that it was just enough for him to be there for her.

Ilea, for her part, leaned back into his embrace, even though she knew that he had known ahead of time. What were he and Billy supposed to do? Tell her that her father was leaving her in the dust and had no plans of telling her about it? That would have gone over about a thousand times worse than Ilea seeing the camper gone for herself. And, she had finally gotten her wish; she no longer had to live in the dusty camper.

"I'm not taking your bed," she said simply, but she was still leaning against him and he didn't let go of her.

"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor."

"I'm perfectly capable of sleeping on the couch."

Jake spun her around, and looked into the eyes that were still covered by sunglasses. Without a word, he pulled them off, aware that Bella's eyes were on them, not caring if they were or not. He was surprised to find that, in spite of her Indian heritage, she had a set of blue eyes most Hollywood blondes would kill over.

She closed her eyes, but Jake's hands came up on either side of her face, holding her so that she couldn't turn away like he sensed she wanted to. Eventually, after what seemed like both an eternity and no time at all, she opened them back up.

"I guess I get why you wear sunglasses," he said softly, "And I don't blame you, but do you honestly think we'll judge you because you have blue eyes? We can turn into wolves."

Ilea smiled, and Jake had the sudden thought that changed how he looked at the world. _That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen._

Before he could lean down and kiss her, Ilea pulled away and put space between them in the tiny kitchen. He didn't nod, as he would have if it was Bella, but he knew that they had both anticipated what was about to happen. He wasn't happy that she, too, was fighting.

She had her own reasons for being distant with him.

"Not here. Not while she's here."


	3. Meeting Edward Among Other Things

Chapter Two- Meeting Edward Among Other Things

Ilea elected to tag along when Jake went to drop Bella back at the border between the Cullens' land and the packs'. She found the increasing hilarity in everyone's behavior at this drop a good distraction from the girl in the back seat, who she wasn't entirely sure Jake was over. But, there wasn't a whole lot she could do except stand by him and keep pushing him into the friend zone with her, which wasn't necessarily a bad place to be when you had something else. So, when Jake parked with a ten foot gap between him and Cullen, she had to hide her laughter behind her hand.

"Who's this?"

"Illy, this is Edward. Edward, this is Ilea Robin."

Ilea wrinkled her nose. "I hate it when you call me that."

Jake just smiled.

"Did you feel it necessary to drag a human into this?"

_Fucking egotistical asshole,_ she thought darkly.

"Egotistical?" Edward asked.

It was as if she knew what he was doing before she even had to be told. The words weren't halfway out of Jake's mouth before Bella's beau looked like he was trying to read the mind of a brick, and not getting very far. He went from constipated to frustrated to angry in a hurry, and that made Ilea smug.

"I know a few tricks. Been around the block a few times. That, and I know my way around my own head."

"Wait, you can block him?" Jake asked softly, turning to her from across the car.

"With a little bit of effort, I'm sure I could make it work for you too, if you're not a stubborn student," she said with a giggle.

"Right on."

Jake waved to Bella, glared at Edward, and hopped in the car. Ilea just shrugged with a smug smile on her face before joining him, and they sped off into the distance.

"I don't like her," Bella surmised.

"Yeah, but I do. I think she'll be good for Jacob," Edward replied, and dodged to avoid her hit.

Back on the reservation, Ilea, who had returned to her now slightly sulky self (although he had only seen it once, this was not her first time wearing such a human costume), stepped out of Jake's car and headed off into the distance. He would follow, she knew, when he was ready. That wasn't her problem. The question was whether or not she was ready. Was she ready to commit to helping a boy she had known only a month through his obsession with a girl in love with his mortal enemy? Was she ready to possibly give her heart, body, and soul to this boy?

"Where are you going?" Jake asked.

"To the beach. You too much of a wimp to swim in the spring Atlantic at night?"

"Race you?"

"I can't beat you. You and I both know it."

"Fine. I'll carry you."

Before she could even protest, she was up in his arms and he was running. The beach wasn't far, but the world behind them was retreating fast. Ilea had the sense that it was slowly becoming just her and him. She knew part of it was because the pack was giving them space. Why, she couldn't say. It probably had something to do with the fact that, as she believed, Jake was their true alpha and Sam only got it because Jake let it pass over—i.e., he had asked for the space.

"So, do we have the whole beach to ourselves tonight?"

Jake said nothing, only sat her down on the sand and dropped down beside her. He threw his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close.

"Yep. All ours, for the night."

Ilea leaned her head against his shoulder, snuggled against him closely. She felt suddenly that everything was right in the world.

And then he leaned his head around and pressed his lips firmly against hers.

The kiss was soft and sweet, neither passionate nor stalemate. It was her first kiss, and, despite the lack of fervor in it, she couldn't help but say that it was beautiful later. He pulled back, and she smiled.

"Sometimes, I feel like we should have done that a month ago."

Jacob let out a belt of laughter, which caused Ilea to laugh in turn. They began to rock back and forth, smiles on their faces as they drew closer again. As their lips connected, they both went too far back and landed on the sand, not even paying attention to what was going on. Ilea hooked her arms around his neck, trying to squeeze out the last bits of the distance between the two of them.

Passion grew in between them. Her hands came down to trace the lines around his abdomen, before finding purchase in the belt loops of his shorts. She didn't try to pull, or to prevent his hands from traveling up the back of her shirt until they came to rest in the same region where her bra rested. She felt his manhood spring up in his shorts, and, flush against him as she was, she suddenly felt like there would be more distance squeezed away.

"Stop," he said softly, and, although he didn't move her away or take his hands out of her shirt, he pulled back. "Not tonight. Not here. I want to do this right."

_Such a fucking romantic_, she thought, but she nodded and kissed his lips gently.

Later that night, Ilea tossed and turned over on the couch. There was a blackness in her heart, something that had never invaded her before and that she sensed, if she let it invade her this night, would remain with her forever. But, it was not a thing she feared; this darkness was not something that made her concerned. It was something that she welcomed.

She flipped again, and, staring at the wall, she knew what she had to do.

Billy had set up a curtain for her to hide behind, as she slept naked. In silence, Ilea stood and wrapped the sheet tightly around herself. When she was sure that she wouldn't be flashing anyone who was on patrol around the perimeter, she slipped out from behind the curtain and moved out of the house, wincing at the cold night air. She suppressed a shiver and headed out onto the road. Without a word, she cut across the yards of the houses of people she had come to care for. She stepped onto the beach in the ethereal silence around the reservation.

There, reflected in the water, was what the darkness commanded her to see.

Unbeknownst to her, she was not the only one who had been awake in the Black household. Jake followed, barefoot and silent on the gravel. He kept enough of a distance that her eerie ESP wouldn't let her know he was behind her. She seemed too focused anyway. He watched in stunned silence as she approached the water, and he wondered what had prompted her midnight trip to the beach.

She, however, watched the woman in the water move fluidly. It wasn't her, that much was sure, but something told her that it had once been. Nor was it the wife of the ancient chieftain. No, it was but a shadowy reflection that could have been any number of the Indian shaman she had seen on the forty-seven reservations she'd lived on in her life. This one, however, had a touch of true magic about her, like she could do what she said she could, instead of waving a wand around and hoping for the best.

It was the kind of woman she associated with the ancient protectors of villages.

Without a word, she let go of the sheet, allowing it to flutter to the sand. In the back of her mind, she hoped it wouldn't blow away. She didn't want Billy to be out a sheet because of her midnight excursion. Most of her, however, was focused on what she had to do to gain this woman's powers. She moved toward the water, and Jake burst onto the sand. Both Sam and Seth jumped from cover and restrained him.

"She's been called," Sam said. "She'll be fine."

"Called?" Jake asked darkly, struggling. "She's half asleep! She'll drown."

Sam said nothing, only turned his head to watch Ilea's progress into the water.

She was waist deep in the water when the spirit of the ancient shaman finally connected to her, and she was left with nothing but the faintest of impressions of what it meant to be a human being. She threw her head back and was filled with the white light of knowledge and purpose that she'd been searching her whole life for.

As soon as she began to fall into the water, Jacob broke ranks and flew to her. He caught her as she fell back, and pulled her to the beach. Instinct, however, told him not to remove her completely from the water. If he did, he might never get her back. Instead, he bent his head over hers and willed her to return to him.

_"Where am I?"_

_ It was a stupid question, and she knew the answer before she even asked. She was in her own head, of course, and she was communing with who she was meant to be, the ancient shaman within. It was only natural that she be in her own head._

_ "In your mind, child."_

_ "Why?"_

_ She knew the answer to that too, but was also aware that her own heart was no longer guiding her mouth._

_ "Because you are moments away from becoming what you were born to be. You were given to the Quileute because of their need for you."_

_ "Why do they need me?"_

_ "What is coming in the future is something neither you nor Jacob can survive alone. All will need your talents in the future, but only you can choose to whom they go. You must be pure in your choice, or you risk the world you know."_

_ "Will I remain like this forever?"_

_ "Always."_

On the beach, as Ilea was having her heart to heart with her spirit guide, a strange change came over Jacob. He felt suddenly that the center of his universe had shifted. No longer did the sun and earth hold him in orbit. The urge to be whoever Ilea needed whenever she needed that person filled him to the brim. He could not resist the pull, and, as if sensing this, Sam and Seth came closer. They wanted to be ready in case the imprint process was too difficult and Jacob couldn't keep Ilea above the rising tide.

Suddenly, she flew out of the water, naked and freezing.

"Holy shit! So… fucking… cold…"

Her teeth began to chatter, but Jacob pulled her closer and she began to warm up.

"Go get her a towel!"

"What the hell happened?"

They were sitting in the Black living room. It was still early in the morning, it was still pre-dawn, and it was definitely still dangerous. However, it was dangerous for a whole new reason. Ilea, blue lips trembling over chattering teeth, was curled into Jacob. Jacob had three blankets piled on top of her, and was fighting the urge to go get two more. She claimed she was warming up in increments, but Jacob wasn't buying it by a long shot.

Sam was standing in the doorway, and the dejected look on his face told Billy that something had happened to once again shove his nose in the fact that he was not the born Alpha. Seth, too, had helped carry Ilea home, as she was incapable of walking. Her knees were so tightly locked together that she was stunned she could curl into him as she had.

"She was called," Sam said. "The shaman in her was awakened by one of the ancients. She's powerful, more so than anyone we've seen in a long time."

"Something big is coming," Billy surmised.

"And she's going to play a pivotal role in it," Jake added.

"She's a-a-also a-a-awake and t-t-t-t-t-t-tired of being s-s-s-spoken about like s-s-s-she wasn't h-h-h-h-here."

Jacob stroked her hair back into place and winced at her tone.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Billy said softly.

"What's that?"

"We need to get Jake a bigger bed."

Still frozen to the point where she thought she was going to catch pneumonia, Ilea snuggled into Jake, glad that he had agreed to sleep on the much larger couch rather than try talking her into the tiny twin bed in his room. Although, she had to admit, behind Jake's closed door would have been much more private—Billy kept rolling out just about every hour on the hour.

Speaking of the devil…

"Go to bed, Dad!"

Ilea smirked into the couch cushions as Billy grudgingly complied. Almost as soon as he was gone, she was asleep, leaving Jake to follow her into the land of dreams.

The next morning, she was up with more energy than she'd had in a very long time. She fished eggs and bacon out of the refrigerator, and, since she had been to enough breakfasts to know that both her hosts liked scrambled eggs, set about cooking breakfast. Of course, her beau liked more than Billy did, but he had a high metabolism because of his condition, and—

She cut herself off in mid-thought, wondering where that tid-bit of information had come from.

"Have you started thinking of things you know, but you can't explain how you know them?"

She jumped about a foot in the air and spun to face Billy.

"Do you suddenly find yourself aware of things you can't possibly know, but distracted from things that you shouldn't be?"

She nodded before turning back to her cooking. As she pulled more bacon out of the pan, Billy rolled himself into his seat and folded his hands. He knew what it meant to be called, even though he himself had never been. It wasn't in his blood to be a shaman. He had known, upon seeing the girl who did not feel the cold he did, who did not feel the fear of being followed by a stranger, who had been attracted to the wolves since she arrived, that it was in _her_ blood. Now that she had been awakened, she had a fight ahead of her.

She had to be aware of it.

"It's all part of it. You'll be able to read minds soon, and then comes the sight," Billy said softly. "After that, you will gain the magic of the elders."

"How much do you know about this?"

"Enough to tell you what to expect, but not enough to help you through," he replied. "And for that, I am sorry."

"How bad could it get?"

"Your first vision will be the most violent part of this… transformation, so to speak."

Ilea nodded as she began beating the eggs. She could hear the sounds of Jacob slowly waking up, slowly coming into the realm of consciousness just before fully awake—a realm she knew as the zombified state.

It was a simple thought—_he's going into the zombified realm_—but it sparked a thought so darkly related to her transformation that she had to freeze in mid plating, before putting the pan back on the stove and bracing herself against the counter.

_A shaman's mind states—sleep state, in which the mind is free to drift upon the sea of dreams; the half-state, in which the mind is captured between sleep and awareness; the awakened state, where the mind is consciously aware of the environment and the visions in which it has encountered; the cast state, in which the mind gains the capability to alter set reality and produce outcomes conducive to their function; the focus state, where the mind becomes susceptible to complete visions of the future._

"Jesus," she hissed. "How long will these stupid 'I'm gonna think something random thing and all this crap's gonna burst into my brain' things go on?"

"For the rest of your life, I'm afraid. I imagine you'll get used to it."

Ilea groaned.

As soon as Jake made his way into the kitchen, zombified and shambling, the conversation of her transformation ended. He sat down, and Ilea handed him his plate.

"It seems like this is where you always come to think, Illy."

"You should stop calling me that."

Ilea kept her eyes on the sand, watching the waves come in and out. She said nothing as he sat down her and threw an arm over her shoulders. The legitimacy of his warmth made her want to cry, but there was something she had to say to him before anything could happen. It was something that had to be done.

The reason she had come to the beach hadn't been clear to her until she was sitting on the driftwood bench, staring out into the nothingness of the Pacific. It hadn't been made clear to her what she could and could not do until she sat staring at the endless ocean that had provided a conduit to the ancients. It had become clear the moment she curled in on herself and stared at the ocean.

It was about to be made clear to Jacob

"What's wrong, Ilea," he asked softly.

"I'll only tell you once. Then, we have no need to discuss it ever again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes."

"In a few days, I'll be able to see all ends. I can already feel the twinges of it. It will not go away, and everything will be clear until I change it… or you change it."

"Why?"

"The only ends I cannot see are mine, and yours."

"Why?"

"Because, as selfish as this curse could be, it cannot be that selfish. By looking at the ends of all other things, I can deduce the missing piece, but our future will only be certain in one respect; it will be ours."

The next day, it was Ilea who had to drive down to the borderlands and pick up Bella. Jacob was on patrol, and he'd practically begged her to do it. She recognized, however, the difference between him begging because he was in love and because he cared about her as a friend. She grudgingly agreed, jumped in the Jake-mobile, and parked at the edge of the borderlands.

She was fifteen minutes early.

She left the key in the ignition and flipped through the radio stations she could get. She found one playing a mix of music (all except country) and cranked it. Part of her felt that Jake would have laughed his head off thinking about Edward's reaction to seeing his arch-rival's girlfriend in the driver's seat.

As soon as she saw the Volvo pull up, she stepped out of the car.

"What are you doing here?" Edward called across the gap of no-man's land.

"Jake's on patrol. He asked me to come get her," she replied.

"I must say, it's a better sight than what I'm used to when I come up here."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. I'm a terrible driver," she said with a smirk.

Edward, fear infecting his eyes, went to grab Bella's arm, but she was out of reach and they could both sense the two wolves in the trees, watching. Ilea innately knew that it was Sam and Seth, without even looking.

"Don't…"

"Kill her?" she asked. "For what you two put Jake through, I probably should."

Bella froze halfway across the gap.

"But I won't."

Bella took a deep breath, knowing that she wouldn't break her word, but Edward gave her a look.

"Why wouldn't you?"

"Firstly, no one, no matter what Sam Uley and the majority of his pack of miscreants think, deserves pain of that magnitude. Secondly, as she _is_ Jake's friend, it would hurt him as well, and that is something I'm not capable of."

"I don't think you're capable of murder," Bella said quietly.

"Not right now, but I fear that I could be, at the end of all this."

"What do you mean?" Edward snapped."

"That's the problem. I don't know."

Bella was in the car before he spoke again.

"How can you not know?"

"Because I can't see it yet."

They stood staring at each other for a moment before they both laughed.

"It's absurd, I know," she continued through the laughter, "But it's all I've got right now."

Ilea could feel the twinges of something coming, something that would require her to be in a situation where she could curl up in a little ball. She couldn't curl up in a little ball driving a stick with Bella Swan in the passenger seat. That would get them both killed, and then there would be a world of shit to answer for. Unconsciously, she pressed a little harder on the accelerator. Their speed inched forward, and, as she saw Billy's house, she hit the brakes, bringing them safely into the driveway. It wasn't a moment too soon, either.

As soon as she was out of the car, her whole body curled in on itself, and she let loose a scream to wake the dead. All the wolves who were off patrol came running, but she was already on the ground, with Bella hovering over her.

In her mind's eye, she saw the end.

_"We were so close, you and I," vision-Ilea whispers. Her breath is fading, and she is finding it impossibly difficult to communicate with Edward._

_ "I know."_

_ "Jacob will go in a matter of hours. Then the Volturi will come for you. There is no alternative."_

_ "I know."_

_ "I saw this… so many years ago."_

_ "And there was nothing we could ever do to change it."_

_ She turns her head, and there is dazzling white snow. A mere foot away, Jacob's outstretched fingers reach for hers. Bella and Edward lift him, and bring him to lie beside her. The snow is beautiful, ice-cold and flawless, but it is nothing compared to the feel of his hand in hers again. The weight of time seems on them both as they turn to look at their friends who were once their bitter enemies._

_ Their biological daughter, Renesmee, comes running out._

_ "Aunt Illy! Uncle Jacob!"_

_ Edward grabs his daughter around the waist, holding her close._

_ "She will survive, if you can make it so that she disappears," Ilea whispers, her final prediction._

_ "No," the girl whispers._

_ "You must survive. You must tell our world this story. Spread the news of the Volturi's betrayal. We will live on in your memory."_

_ Nessie nods gently, even as Carlisle is running toward them._

_ "We're out of time," Jacob whispers._

_ "But we're doing it together."_

The vision seemed short to Ilea, short and painful, but when she un-balled herself and took a deep lungful of air, she found that two hours had passed. Jacob was sitting with his back against the couch they shared, his eyes shut. He appeared to have dozed off. Billy, however, was sitting in his wheel-chair, right across from her.

"I thought you said I could never see my own end."

"Only in your first vision."

"Can it be changed?"

"No one knows. No one who has ever tried has succeeded."


	4. Down the Rabbit Hole

_**Sorry it's been so long! I've been absorbed in trying to pass Calculus and trying to sort out the madness that is my non-existent romantic existence. Now that I am passing Calc and seeing the proverbial light, here's a little taste of what's to come.**_

Chapter Three- Down the Rabbit Hole

Once graduation was over with, and Ilea had calmed Jacob down about the coming wedding (although he had somehow miraculously imprinted on her, he was still certain that Bella's marriage would kill her), everything chilled out. She watched as Jake grew more and more angry with Sam, of course, but other than that, they spent most of their days getting to know each other and themselves. Her father called her once a week to talk about his new job. He started sending money back, which she rolled and saved in a jar under the queen-size mattress that, of all people, Edward Cullen purchased for them.

The events that caused the purchase, of course, must be told. To do that, we must return to graduation.

"They're coming after me," Bella said softly. "The newborn army is under the control of Victoria. They'll come after me."

Ilea, a month into her life as the resident healer and shaman of La Push (only two months into her life as a La Push resident), snorted. She knew it was true, but she also knew that "Ice-Cube Boy," as she referred to Edward, friendly as the reference seemed, wouldn't let anything happen to his precious Swan. It didn't change the fact that, in her heart of hearts, she was worried for Jacob's friend.

"Then we stop them," she said finally.

"And how do you propose to do that? Some mystic force-field?" Edward snapped.

They weren't necessarily the best of friends. It was difficult for them to get along together, but they managed it for the sake of their respective significant others. Since the beginning, when she admitted that she knew something was coming but not what it was (she'd never been given a chance to amend said knowledge), Edward had alternated between insulting her abilities and insinuating that she was nothing but a crock.

It made her mad.

Jacob went to attack, to defend her honor, but her hand on his chest stopped him. They were parked in the borderlands, sitting on the neutral territory where the Cullen's land ended and the Pack's began. Any action on either of their parts could be considered an act of all out war, resulting in a broken treaty and an end to the friendship between Bella and Jacob. It would be easy for the testosterone filled men to forget that, but Ilea was not so easily blinded by anger.

"He doesn't hold with my power. I don't blame him. If I didn't know I could do it, I wouldn't believe it myself," she said softly, more diplomatically than she really wanted to. "And I wasn't thinking a mystic force-field, Edward. I cannot fight the newborns for you. I don't have that kind of power yet."

Edward's eyes snapped to hers, and she could tell that he was reading the thoughts she had screamed across the gap at him. He could only do so because she let him.

"It's impossible."

"It's the only way."

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked. "I hate it when you let him do that!"

"Sorry, babe," she said softly, and she kissed his cheek. "We have to form an alliance between the Pack and the Cullens."

He paused. They all paused. Bella looked at her as if to say that it was a stupid idea that would get people killed. Edward gave her the look that said he was considering it, now that she had said it out loud. Jake just looked at her.

"That… could work," Jacob finally offered. "Sam wouldn't be opposed to it if we explained the threat and the danger."

"Jesus, I can't believe you're considering this! It could get you all killed!" Bella gaped. She started across the line, but Ilea snarled. Even Edward—born predator, vampire who could kill anything and anyone—drew back at the sound.

"You stay on your side," she snapped. "Right now, you're the only one who doesn't have a say in this. It's your safety on the line, so all negotiations on your part are off."

Jake smirked and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close.

"Have I told you I love you lately?"

"Only every hour on the hour. I don't mind."

Edward, to the surprise of everyone there, smiled.

"It's not a matter of wanting to or not. It's a matter of having to!"

Ilea sat delicately on the stump, her mouth shut. Jake and Sam were standing at odds, as usual, and she was staying out of it. Even though she was shaman of the pack, Sam didn't like her feeding visions to Jake as information to use against him. He felt that she was undermining his authority, which she was. Seated on the stump, however, she had a sudden snap of vision, brought on by the image of Jacob and Sam standing against each other. She went instantly from what she knew as the Aware state to the Focus state. It was enough to almost knock her off the stump, and it was by a sheer miracle that she didn't come down.

_**You can't do that! The treaty still stands!**_

_ Sam snarled. __**It's a threat to the whole village.**_

_ "It's a child," Ilea snapped darkly, rising up from the log on which she sat. "It's no more a threat to the town or the village than we are. You cannot kill it because of its birth-right."_

_**We have to kill it.**_

_ Jake suddenly looked as angry as Ilea felt. His hackles rose and rage painted itself in his eyes._

_**You can't force her to do that. The Cullens trust her and she doesn't agree with this as is. **_

_**She is the shaman of this pack. She will do what I say!**_

_ Jake shifted from an anxious state to a state of defense, and suddenly Ilea understood. Sam wanted her to go in and kill the child, then draw the Cullens out into the forest, where they could be slaughtered. "No. I won't do it."_

_ Sam snapped, __**This is **__**my**__** pack. You are **__**my**__** shaman! You will do as **__**I**__** say!**_

_ She allowed the tendrils of her mind to shift and heard the alpha order to stand down. Jake, however, was resisting. And, in resisting, he was coming into his own. As Sam tried to beat him into submission, he rose against it, taking command of his destiny, as she had known he would._

_**I am the great-grandson of Ephraim Black. I am the great-grandson of the chief. I was not made to follow you.**_

_ He rose up over Sam, and Ilea made the leap, letting the wind carry herself to her wolf's back._

_**I side with him. I break all bonds with this pack!**_

"Illy? You alive over there?"

"What? Yeah, I'm alive," she said, instantly hiding the vision in the back of her mind. "Freezing my ass off, but still alive."

"Whine a bit more, why don't you?" Sam snapped.

"Fuck you, Sam. I'm sorry I'm not a super heater." she replied, moving over to Jacob. "What's the plan? I kinda zoned out."

"We're going to train with them."

Ilea nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "As wolves, I suppose."

"I don't trust them enough to go as humans," Sam interjected.

"I wasn't talking to you," she snapped.

"I am the alpha of this pack—"

"And I am the shaman. If you want my help, you stop waving that fucking 'I'm alpha' bullshit in my face. You're only in charge because of deferment."

Sam didn't say anything, but Ilea could hear him thinking exactly what she expected. She said nothing in response to it.

When Jake carried Ilea into the clearing where the training was to go on, she felt like she was going to be sick. It had nothing to do with the presence of the Cullens; more so, she could feel the potential loss of life in the air. Such an ending to so many lives made her nauseous. He set her down, and she found a rock at the edge, where she couldn't end up hurt by anything.

Jasper gave her a look that shook her to the core, before Jacob's body blocked him out.

She tuned out the look, trying to concentrate on what he was saying to his family. When he began to teach the wolves, she folded her legs over and went into the Focus state, what she liked to call the Best-Sleep-I've-Ever-Fucking-Had-While-Concentrating State, or the All Important Omnipresent State, in an effort to avoid the blonde vampire she called the Texas Gentleman. Over the last two months, she'd developed nicknames for everything in order to keep the levity in her life. The potential for failure and anger was so great it was impossible to overcome without making fun of almost every aspect of her power.

She felt the ancients would understand.

The tendrils of her mind stretched out, and her future was but a thought away. She brushed the images aside, looking instead for the exercises she'd started working into her daily routine. She touched Jacob's consciousness, and was pleased to find that he didn't start whining like he'd been bitten by a horde of angry fleas like he had the first time. It was just another way to strengthen the tactical bond between them.

_I heard that thing about the fleas._

_ Point being?_

_ Eddie probably heard it too._

Ilea could see, through Jacob's eyes, that Edward turned to glare at them both.

_It's very hard to stay in the Focus when I'm about to fall off this damn cold rock laughing._

_ I know the feeling. I want to start rolling around, but I have to pay attention to Blood Sucker #6, your Texas Gentleman or whatever._

"Jacob, I'm sure we'd all appreciate it if you paid attention now and insulted us later," Edward said.

_Fuck you, pretty boy._

Ilea's physical body smirked, but she withdrew all the same, knowing that Edward was right; Jacob needed to pay attention. It was vital to his survival, unless everything played out _**exactly**_ as it was supposed to. Then, she supposed, it was fair game to distract him.

She wasn't willing to risk it. Jake was too unpredictable.

In the Focus state, she had learned, she could both cast and extend her awareness into the future and past. So, instead of attempting to suppress the vision of Edward's six month separation from Bella, she allowed it to come while she focused on holding a large rock in the air.

_Standing on the hill over the castle-village, Ilea watched as Edward's eyes grew darker and darker with sorrow. Hovering beside him, she could hear the thoughts of the Edward who was training her lover and his pack._

_**I was sure she was dead. I was so positive that I would never see her alive again.**_

___The Edward in the vision knelt down to touch the Earth, and she was certain, had he been capable of producing tears, that he would have been crying. The grief was chiseled into his every feature, making his whole body scream with it. It gave her insight into just how strongly he felt about Bella, and how much her month old threat to kill Bella for hurting Jake had scared him. He'd already lost her once, after all. Going for two would kill him._

___The scene shifted around her, and she was hovering next to him in the Volturi's chambers. He wasn't kneeling this time. Instead, he stood proud and tall in front of the vampiric elders, hoping that his defiance would prompt the results he was hoping for. And, all at once, she knew that he'd gone to the Volturi to get them to kill him. And, he would have his way no matter how he had to go about it._

_ He didn't think his life was worth living when Bella Swan was dead._

_ "I told a human about our existence. You and I both know the punishment for such a transgression."_

_ "And… you have come here seeking this?"_

_**I was. I wanted to die—knew I couldn't live without her. It would be impossible, unthinkable. I used to think, in all honesty, she would have been better off if I had died before she got to me. Fortunately for you, she got to me.**_

Ilea opened her eyes to see Edward staring directly at her, standing three feet away from her. She was so startled she dropped the rock, and heads turned to see what had just happened. Jacob was beside her, hackles raised in such a way as to illustrate his displeasure with Edward's proximity.

"Calm down," she said softly, burying a hand in his fur.

"I usually don't narrate. I usually don't have to, because no one has ever been in my head before."

"It was not my intention to go there," she said, "And even if you had died, it would not have mattered. He imprinted when I made the change."

"Why not before?" Jasper asked, coming closer to her.

"For the same reason that you do not have your powers before you become vampires—I was not complete, and therefore his genes could not accept me."

"What if you had never…"

"Then the future would be very different."

"Ok, so we're on top of a fucking mountain? To watch over Bella?"

Jacob shrugged, and Ilea nodded gently.

"Alright, but we have to do this carefully," she said softly. "And we'll have to go back in the morning… both of us."

"Illy."

"No. If you're in the thick, I'm in the thick."

"Damnit, woman," Jacob snapped, but he kissed her anyway.

Ilea heard, in her head, Edward's internal gag. In response, she deepened the kiss. When Edward coughed, Jacob pulled away and she smirked.

"You knew he was there…"

"Me? Never."

Edward rolled his eyes as they separated.

"I'll carry her. You carry Bella. We should cover their scents."

"I'll cover yours," Ilea said, speaking to Edward. "If Victoria smells you, she'll find the campsite. Then, we'll all be in trouble."

"She might find it anyway," Jacob said.

"It's a risk we have to take."

Jacob scooped Bella up into his arms and turned away, but Ilea wasn't done.

"Jacob?"

"Yeah," he said, turning to face her.

"Not for her. Remember that."

Jake smiled. "Never."

They turned and headed off into the wilderness, while Ilea clambered onto Edward's back.

"What do you mean, not for her?"

"He's not allowed to die for her," she said softly as Edward began to run. "Really, he's not allowed to die for anyone, but he wouldn't agree to that so we had to compromise. He's not allowed to die for her if I don't die for him."

"Shouldn't you be able to tell when it will happen, and who you'll die for?"

"No. I cannot see his end or mine. All I know is that it's a long way off," she lied. There was no need to worry him about something she was hoping to change.

"Not after we leave. When we leave here, you'll both return to your human states."

"I'm afraid that when you leave, we'll be going with you."

Edward stopped, and she was amazed to find them at their campsite. "What do you mean?"

"I can't tell you. The choices that will be made to get there are not yet set, and if I tell you, I'm afraid you'll make the wrong decisions for the right reasons," she said softly. "And you're wrong about another thing."

"What's that?"

"Even if you leave and we stay, I will live long after he dies."

_Jesus it's cold._

Ilea felt Jake's furry paws push her closer into his body heat, and she was grateful. The cold snow was not something she'd been prepared to deal with on top of the mountain, and it was hard to wait for sunrise and warmth when everything was so cold. The chattering teeth in the tent weren't helping.

"We've gotta do something," she whispered.

Jacob growled before shifting back into his human form. Ilea's eyes widened, and she felt the lack of body heat shocking to the core. He had to pick her up and carry her into the tent.

"Can't sleep with all the teeth chattering going on," Jacob said as he re-zipped the tent door.

Edward looked at him, and the anger became palpable.

"No."

"It was my idea," Ilea snapped. "You think I like it any better than you? It's the only way she keeps her toes."

"Oh, yeah, and what about you?"

"There's a reason I stopped shaking when we got in here. I don't feel cold like she does. Granted, I'm not as immune to it as Mike Tyson over here, going toe to toe with Father Winter, but still."

Edward glared between the two of them, until Bella's teeth chattering increased. Then he sighed, and Ilea knew they had won. She nodded, and Jake slipped into the sleeping bag behind her.

"Like having a personal space heater," Jake said, and Ilea smiled.

Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow that was Jake's arm, Bella was asleep. That left him, Edward, and Ilea awake in the tent. He however, only counted for half.

"You can lie down. I promise I won't kill him before the end of the night," Edward said.

"I couldn't sleep if I wanted to, and I don't want to. I'm too keyed up."

"Why's that? The prospect of death and dismemberment or the blizzard outside?" he asked sharply.

Jake was slowly drifting toward sleep, and Ilea could tell he was wishing that it was her in his arms, not Bella. It made her smile just thinking about it.

"Neither. The chance to fight," she replied.

"You want to fight? You're dumber than I thought you were."

"Not dumb, just tired of being benched. They've been chasing people up and down the line for weeks, going on patrol and watching for activity. I've been on the side-lines because Sam doesn't 'need nor want our best fighter distracted'."

"He's right."

"No, he's not. The only thing that distracts Jake is Sam."

"Really, so—"

"We were both bored in the clearing. You were trying to teach them something they were born to do."

"You know, if you weren't in love with the enemy, I might like you," Edward smirked.

"If you weren't such an almost narcissist, maybe I'd like you too."

"Not me, now will you both shut up?" Jake mumbled.

"Sorry, babe."

_The red-headed vampire went for the ending blow, her partner holding Edward by the arms. Bella, standing in the trees, took a rock to her arm. Fear consumed her; Jake had left her on the mountain alone so that she wouldn't get hurt in the battle, but the war had come to them anyway. And in this way, it was worse. Oh, so much worse._

"No!"

Ilea sat straight up, and looked into the corner where Bella had been laying. They were outside, talking about how Edward had known Jake was standing there when they were talking about their wedding.

"Please, tell me he didn't leave," she snapped, stepping out of the tent.

"Yeah, because he's upset about-"

"That's not all of it, is it," she said, but her eyes were far away. "He knew, damnit. He knew I'd want to fight."

"So, he left you up here with us?"

"Yeah, and he ended up making this a hundred times worse."

"How?"

Before she could answer, Riley, Victoria's lover, appeared, and the battle lead-in, as well as her dream vision, were complete.

"Shit," she snapped, and as Edward tried to distract Riley, she grabbed Bella's arm and began to pull her away. "SETH!"

The wolf went for Riley as Edward headed to attack Victoria. As both battles raged, and Riley hurt Seth, Ilea felt her mind headed for the Cast state, without any conscious decision on her part. She knew what was coming. Riley went for Edward, and Bella thought back to the stories she'd heard.

"Do it," Ilea whispered. "I'll hold them off if Edward has some extra trouble."

Bella cut herself, and two heads snapped up.

"No," Edward whispered.

Seth, although not dead, was still out of commission. It would take him a moment to recover. She knew this because, when she prodded his mind, he gave no sign of consciousness. It would take both of them to finish the two vampires before Victoria got to Bella. With one of them out, she had to hold the she-vamp off. She, however, had never held anything off with her physical shield, Edward's so-called mystic force-field, except Seth when he was playing around. This was the real deal, and she wasn't trained. It didn't help that she was still partly in Jake's head, watching him fight.

As soon as Victoria left Riley to Edward, Ilea threw up her shield, a physical and mental force-field that, when Victoria pushed against, she could not penetrate, even though it shoved Ilea back almost a foot. It wasn't long before they were locked in both a battle of wills and a battle of strength, with Victoria leaning against the shield where Ilea was holding it up and Ilea trying to brace herself in the snow.

"Tell me what I can do!" Bella shouted.

"Don't… get… killed…" Ilea shot back over her shoulder, keeping her focus largely on the shield. _C'mon, Seth, I can't hold this forever._

In the end, it was not Seth but Edward who came to her rescue. Seth was busy taking out Riley, leaving the other to rescue Ilea and Bella (primarily Bella). As soon as Edward pulled Victoria off the shield, she collapsed, falling to her knees in the snow. Holding it for so long against so strong a foe drained her. She knew, as she watched the black wings begin to come over her vision, that she was headed to a black out. Just the physical exertion had her panting like a dog.

At the thought, her lips turned up at the corners.

"Illy!" Bella cried, and she knelt beside her.

"Tell… Jacob… just fine… Exhausted… is all… and… he's… gonna get… his ass… handed… to him."

"Ok," Bella said softly, but there was a whisper of a grin on her face.

"What are you thinking about so diligently over there?"

Ilea sat up from the queen size mattress that had been shoved haphazardly into Jake's bedroom.

"That, with this bed, we need a bigger room."

"How about a house?"

"A house would be nice, if we could afford it," she laughed.

"Someday."

She shook her head as giggles consumed her. It was as joking as he'd been all day, with the decision finally being made that they would go to the wedding and the talk Billy had been throwing around about breaking the treaty. They both knew it would be coming, and they both knew that it was not up to Sam Uley; it was up to the great-grandson of Ephraim Black, the chief at the time of the treaty, to decide if it would be allowed or not. Ilea _thought_ he would give his permission, but she _knew_ he would defend the Cullens when Sam decided to attack.

"What's so funny?"

"It's kinda out of order; we move in before…"

She stopped giggling as she sat up, looking at him.

"Before we get married?"

She shrugged. "I guess." Marriage hadn't been something she'd thought about for herself and Jacob, especially since they were meant to be together anyway.

"It is kinda out of order. I suppose we'll have to fix that," he said, and he moved as close to the bed as his plans would allow. She watched in shocked silence as he went down on one knee and produced a box with a ring in it. "Will you marry me?"

The ring wasn't some dime store piece of junk, like what her own father had proposed to her mother with; it was at least 2 carats, a rock of a diamond that, as Leonardo DiCaprio had said in Titanic, would send her straight to the bottom of the ocean. She didn't want to know how many odd jobs he'd taken since the beginning of the summer to get it. It wasn't something she wanted to think about, because the ring itself was hard enough to consider, to wrap her head around.

"Yes," she whispered, breathless.

Jake smiled and slipped the ring on her finger.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Jacob. Forever and always."


	5. Notice

NOTICE:

Okay, so I broke my flash-drive with all my files on it and dummy me never got around to backing the damn thing up. So, until I can afford to take it in and get it fixed or whatever, I'm going to _**attempt**_ to write from memory. I can't promise that I'll get all of the stories that I had up exactly the way that they are on the flash drive, which means that I may have to sit down and re-write them. I also can't promise that the flash drive will be fixed and data will be recoverable. In the event of this latter instance, I will finish from memory. And, who knows? Maybe this is a good thing. The thing was getting a little cluttered anyway…

Who the hell am I kidding?

Sorry for the inconvenience,

Midnight Rhymer & Management


End file.
